pre-covid we used to have an annual chili cookoff right around Halloween. There's a guy who I've seen walk out of the bathroom countless times without washing his hands. Nice guy, just super nasty. One year, he decided to enter the contest. I immediately asked one of the judges if she could tell me what chili belonged to which participant just so I could avoid his.

I also had a coworker who told me a story about a former coworker of his who used to bring in cookies she baked during the holidays. He said she was a sweet older lady with several cats, and no one thought much of that. She loves cats, no big deal. One year, she brought in cookies, and people would take one or two off the serving tray until they dwindled down to a dozen or so. It was then that she talked about spending the weekend baking them, and how her cats even helped, by pressing their paws down on the dough.

The toughest part about potlucks is temperature control while in transit.

Yeah I’m just gonna turn down any potluck invites from here on out

Yes. Everything ends up being different temperatures and there's only so much space in the one oven at the host house

I've also heard people complain about how potlucks aren't ultimately satisfying because it's a mishmash of meals that don't necessarily mesh with each other. Not sure about that one.

I love potlucks, always enjoy bringing something delicious and trying out other people's stuff, but lately I've been hearing some pushback and I wondered if they were losing popularity

Isn’t this what crock pots are for?

Work potlucks usually end up just being a bunch of chips, assorted dips, a veggie tray, and desserts.

Is it? I don't think crock pots are very popular among millennials. Certainly not Argentine millennials